Collecting CRM data for feedback

BACKGROUND

0001One of the most difficult tasks of any software company is understanding how customers are using the existing version of the software so that improvements can be made in building the next version. Many companies choose to survey the customer explicitly. But surveys are laborious to design and administer and require significant effort on the part of the customer to fill out.

SUMMARY

0002Collecting and analyzing usage data from a CRM database provides useful insights into improving future versions of CRM software. Options for the type of data to be collected may be presented and several opportunities may be available to tailor the data to be communicated to the CRM provider. The data may be serialized into XML, encrypted, compressed and sent using a secure socket layer to provide security and lower bandwidth usage. The vendor may use the data to populate a vendor database where the data may be combined with data from other users to be queried against.

DRAWINGS

0003<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a block diagram of a computing system that may operate in accordance with the claims;

0004<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a graphical illustration of a method of collecting feedback data from a CRM program in accordance with the claims;

0005<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 3</figref><i>a </i>and <b>3</b><i>b </i>are more detailed flowcharts of one embodiment of the method in accordance with the claims;

0006<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is another high level illustration of the method, focusing more on the end use of the data at the CRM vendor in accordance with the claims;

0007<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is an illustration of the blocks that represent the steps of the method in accordance with the claims;

0008<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is an example of a possible welcome screen in accordance with the claims;

0009<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> is one possible privacy statement in accordance with the claims;

0010<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> is an organizational information gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0011<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> is an implementation information display in accordance with the claims;

0012<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> is a partner involvement gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0013<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> is a partner information gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0014<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> is a partner detailed information gathering page in accordance with the claims;

0015<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 13</figref> is an add-in program gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0016<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14</figref> is a detailed add-in program gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0017<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref> is an email gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0018<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 16</figref> is a CRM web server authentication display in accordance with the claims;

0019<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 17</figref> is a business data authorization gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0020<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 18</figref> is a statistical data authorization gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0021<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 19</figref> is a system information authorization gathering display in accordance with the claims;

0022<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 20</figref> is a selection display to view data before it is communicated in accordance with the claims;

0023<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 21</figref> is a data collection progress display in accordance with the claims;

0024<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 22</figref> is a data review before communication option in accordance with the claims;

0025<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 23</figref> is a sent data progress display in accordance with the claims;

0026<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 24</figref> is a communication disruption display in accordance with the claims; and

0027<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 25</figref> is a communication completion display in accordance with the claims.

DESCRIPTION

0028Although the following text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

0029It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘_{——————}’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term by limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.

0030<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment <b>100</b> on which a system for the steps of the claimed method and apparatus may be implemented. The computing system environment <b>100</b> is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the method of apparatus of the claims. Neither should the computing environment <b>100</b> be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment <b>100</b>.

0031The steps of the claimed method and apparatus are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the methods or apparatus of the claims include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

0032The steps of the claimed method and apparatus may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The methods and apparatus may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

0033With reference to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, an exemplary system for implementing the steps of the claimed method and apparatus includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer <b>110</b>. Components of computer <b>110</b> may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit <b>120</b>, a system memory <b>130</b>, and a system bus <b>121</b> that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit <b>120</b>. The system bus <b>121</b> may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus.

0034Computer <b>110</b> typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer <b>110</b> and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can accessed by computer <b>110</b>. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

0035The system memory <b>130</b> includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) <b>131</b> and random access memory (RAM) <b>132</b>. A basic input/output system <b>133</b> (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer <b>110</b>, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM <b>131</b>. RAM <b>132</b> typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit <b>120</b>. By way of example, and not limitation, <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates operating system <b>134</b>, application programs <b>135</b>, other program modules <b>136</b>, and program data <b>137</b>.

0036The computer <b>110</b> may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only, <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates a hard disk drive <b>140</b> that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive <b>151</b> that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk <b>152</b>, and an optical disk drive <b>155</b> that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk <b>156</b> such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive <b>141</b> is typically connected to the system bus <b>121</b> through a non-removable memory interface such as interface <b>140</b>, and magnetic disk drive <b>151</b> arid optical disk drive <b>155</b> are typically connected to the system bus <b>121</b> by a removable memory interface, such as interface <b>150</b>.

0037The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer <b>110</b>. In <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, for example, hard disk drive <b>141</b> is illustrated as storing operating system <b>144</b>, application programs <b>145</b>, other program modules <b>146</b>, and program data <b>147</b>. Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system <b>134</b>, application programs <b>135</b>, other program modules <b>136</b>, and program data <b>137</b>. Operating system <b>144</b>, application programs <b>145</b>, other program modules <b>146</b>, and program data <b>147</b> are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer <b>20</b> through input devices such as a keyboard <b>162</b> and pointing device <b>161</b>, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit <b>120</b> through a user input interface <b>160</b> that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor <b>191</b> or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus <b>121</b> via an interface, such as a video interface <b>190</b>. In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers <b>197</b> and printer <b>196</b>, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface <b>190</b>.

0038The computer <b>110</b> may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer <b>180</b>. The remote computer <b>180</b> may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer <b>110</b>, although only a memory storage device <b>181</b> has been illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. The logical connections depicted in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> include a local area network (LAN) <b>171</b> and a wide area network (WAN) <b>173</b>, but may also include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

0039When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer <b>110</b> is connected to the LAN <b>171</b> through a network interface or adapter <b>170</b>. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer <b>110</b> typically includes a modem <b>172</b> or other means for establishing communications over the WAN <b>173</b>, such as the Internet. The modem <b>172</b>, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus <b>121</b> via the user input interface <b>160</b>, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer <b>110</b>, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation, <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates remote application programs <b>185</b> as residing on memory device <b>181</b>. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

0040<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> may be a graphical illustration of a method of collecting feedback data from a Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) program. The generally accepted purpose of CRM is to enable organizations to better manage their customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes and procedures for interacting with those customers. The method may be designed to help a software product team understand how customers are using the CRM application by gathering anonymous, descriptive data about the CRM database. The database may be a rich repository of the customer's business data and reflects the extent to which customers use certain features of the application.

0041At a high level, a wizard or a series of easy to execute steps may collect and send the collected data securely over the Internet to the software product team where a backend process imports the data into a reporting database. Product team members can then run queries against the reporting database to answer questions like “how many customers used feature X?” The wizard may be simple for a customer to run and the infrastructure is flexible enough that only minor modifications are necessary to handle collection of additional data.

0042The wizard may collect and compute several categories of database characteristics to help the product team better understand how customers are using the CRM product. Some characteristics include:

00431. Customer profile through survey questions;

00442. Data quantity through record counts and database size;

00453. Data relationships through record associations;

00464. Data growth rates through record creation dates;

00475. Data customizations through database schema differences; and

00486. Hardware requirements through server system information.

0049The client wizard may ask the user a set of optional survey questions such as industry, number of employees, date of product purchase, etc. to characterize the data set for data analysis. The wizard may allow the user to opt out of any categories of data that the user does not want the wizard to collect. The wizard may allow the user to preview the data before deciding whether to send it. The opt-out and review features ensure that the user has full control over and is fully aware of the data that is being collected.

0050The infrastructure may be designed with important security features. In order to allow only legitimate users to send data to the web service, the service authenticates the wizard application by requiring a valid license key and organization name pair. The wizard may run a cryptographically secure algorithm to verify that the license key and organization name matches. The data that is transmitted from the wizard to the web service may be encrypted using the HTTPS protocol to guard against eavesdropping on the communications channel. To protect the anonymity of customers who run the wizard and yet still allow the system to unique identify each data set, the system may compute a one-way hash of the organization ID which may be unique for each CRM installation. The one-way hash protects anonymity by preventing someone from deriving or backing out the originating organization ID from the hash of the organization ID.

0051Once the data is collected, it may be communicated to a central storage location. When the data file is received from the wizard, it may save the entire file to a file share. A process, such as a batch process, may then run periodically to parse the data file into the reporting database which is optimized for querying and reporting. To improve performance, the communication may be asynchronous operations including storing and parsing the file. Otherwise, the customer running the wizard may have to wait until the file is parsed before the wizard can exit. The data may be collected in the form of XML stream (Serialized form) and may be communicated to the software vendor through secured file share using HTTPS protocol to ensure customer anonymity.

0052Referring again to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, at the Distribution Server level <b>200</b>, software to execute the method may be released <b>202</b>. At the customer level <b>204</b> (where the user has administrative authority), a customer or user may download an installation package <b>206</b> such as an Installer Package to start the installation. The user may then select to run the installation package <b>208</b> which may extract the necessary file and store them locally. The user may then review a license and legal notices <b>210</b>. If the user accepts the license at block <b>210</b>, at block <b>212</b> the method may install a tool to install the wizard program and at block <b>214</b>, the method may run the tool. At block <b>216</b>, the user may specify the CRM server to be used as the basis of the analysis. At block <b>218</b>, the user may select the data to be shared. At the customer application level <b>220</b>, the method may collect data as selected by the user from the CRM application and related servers <b>222</b>. Returning again to the admin level of authority <b>204</b>, the method may communicate the data <b>224</b> to the receiver level <b>226</b>.

0053At the receiver level <b>226</b>, the method may receive data <b>228</b> from the CRM installation. At block <b>230</b>, the method may authenticate and/or validate the organization name and license key combination. As previously mentioned, to protect the anonymity of customers who run the wizard and yet still allow the system to unique identify each data set, the system may compute a one-way hash of the organization ID which may be unique for each CRM installation. The one-way hash protects anonymity by preventing someone from deriving or backing out the originating organization ID from the hash of the organization ID. The system may be validated based on the organization name, License GUID and the license key

0054At block <b>232</b>, the method may decide whether the organization name and license key combination is valid by comparing it to combinations it knows are valid. If the determination is no, the method may end. If the determination is yes, control may pass to block <b>234</b> where the data may be stored in a persistent data format, such as on a hard drive or a tape drive.

0055In the process level <b>236</b>, the method may be subjected to a process, such as a batch process <b>238</b>. The batch process can import the results file from block <b>222</b> into the reporting database by reading a data map file which defines what data goes into which column of which table. The data map file may be defined according to the data that is collected as specified in the input file. At the reporting database level <b>240</b>, the data is then stored in the reporting database <b>242</b>.

0056At the project manager level <b>244</b>, after the data is imported into the reporting database, users may design reports or queries to analyze the data in the database. Sample queries may be used <b>246</b>, or queries may be tailored <b>248</b>. The queries may then be executed against the reporting database from step <b>242</b> and the results of the query would be displayed <b>254</b>.

0057<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 3</figref><i>a </i>and <b>3</b><i>b </i>may be more detailed flowcharts of one embodiment of the method. At block <b>300</b>, assuming the necessary software has already been communicated to the system in question, the method may begin when an executable program with the step of the method may be selected. At block <b>302</b>, a welcome screen may be displayed where a selection may be made to proceed to the next step such as step <b>304</b> or to cancel. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> may be an example of a possible welcome screen. Options may be presented to proceed to a next screen <b>605</b> or to cancel <b>610</b>. On clicking “Cancel” button, system may prompt for a confirmation message saying “Do you really want to quit?” with “Yes/No buttons” being available for selection. On clicking “Yes,” the system may release all the resources and close the application. On clicking “No,” the system may continue with the current screen.

0058Referring again to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>, at block <b>304</b>, a customer privacy statement may be displayed. CRM users may be concerned that the information to be communicated could be used in a manner that would be a competitive disadvantage. The privacy statement may describe the privacy steps to be used with the data. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> may be one example of such a display. After the data is displayed, options may be presented to print the privacy statement <b>710</b>, move on to the next screen <b>720</b>, go back to the previous screen <b>730</b> or canceling the method <b>740</b>. On clicking “Cancel” button, system may prompt for a confirmation message saying “Do you really want to quit?” with “Yes/No buttons” being available for selection. On clicking “Yes,” the system may release all the resources and close the application. On clicking “No,” the system may continue with the current screen. In addition, the privacy display may be accessed in future displays such as in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 8-23</figref> by selecting a “privacy policy” tab where the privacy policy will be displayed again.

0059Referring again to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>, assuming next is selected at block <b>304</b>, at block <b>306</b>, the method may begin to ask for organizational information. The method may also ask for industry related data. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> may be a sample display which may take the inputs from the user like industry <b>800</b>, other related industries <b>810</b>, country <b>820</b>, state or province <b>830</b>, number of employees <b>840</b> and annual revenue <b>850</b>. Business information about a customer may give important context to the data the wizard collects about the database. Reports on the collected data may be built to pivot on this business data, such as “Data Quantity by Industry”, which gives the CRM product team information on how customers needs vary across business categories. On selecting the Next button <b>860</b>, the entered data may be stored for future reference.

0060At block <b>308</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), a CRM implementation information screen may be displayed. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> may be an example of one such display. The display may take the inputs about the purchase month <b>900</b> and year <b>910</b> and implementation month <b>920</b> and year <b>930</b>. On selecting the Next button <b>940</b>, the entered data may be stored for future references.

0061At block <b>310</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), the method may inquire about whether partners are involved in providing services or value added features. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> may be an example of one such display. Selections may include yes <b>1000</b>, no <b>1010</b> or not sure <b>1020</b>. On selecting next <b>1030</b>, the entered data may be stored for future use.

0062At block <b>312</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), the method may evaluate whether it was indicated partners where involved at block <b>310</b>. If it was indicated that partners are involved, control may pass to block <b>314</b> where additional information may be gather about the partner. If it was indicated that partners were not involved or not sure, control may pass to block <b>316</b> where questions about add-ons to the CRM system may be posed.

0063At block <b>314</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), the method may inquire about partners names who are involved in providing services or value added features. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> may be an example of such a display. The display may take the information about the partners' names <b>1100</b>-<b>1140</b> that are involved in providing services or value added features. On selecting the next button <b>1150</b>, the entered data may be stored for future use.

0064In addition, a partner details display may be displayed for each partner entered in inputs <b>1100</b>-<b>1140</b>. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> may be an example of one such display. The partner name from blocks <b>1100</b>-<b>1140</b> may be displayed <b>1200</b> and various blocks may be displayed to indicate the type of services the add-on provider is delivering <b>1210</b>. The method may also accept comments about the add-on provider <b>1220</b>. Upon selecting a next button <b>1230</b>, the data may be stored for future use. If details for all the add-on providers from blocks <b>1100</b>-<b>1140</b> have been entered, the method may pass control to block <b>316</b>.

0065At block <b>316</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>), the method may ask if add-in software is included in the CRM system. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 13</figref> may be a sample display of where options to be selected about add-in programs include yes <b>1300</b>, no <b>1310</b> or do not know <b>1320</b>. Upon selecting a next button <b>1330</b>, the selections may be saved for future use.

0066At block <b>318</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>) the method may make a determination of whether add-in programs are part of the CRM service based on the inputs from block <b>316</b>. Customizations that customers make to their database may have significant downstream impacts such as loss of upgrade support. If yes was selected at block <b>316</b>, control may pass to block <b>320</b> where additional detail may be added about the add-in programs. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14</figref> may be a sample display where additional information about add-in programs is gathered such as details about the Vendor Name <b>1400</b>, Add On Name <b>1410</b> and Add On Functionalities <b>1420</b>. By selecting next <b>1430</b>, the data entered may be saved for future use. If at block <b>316</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>) no or do not know was selected, control may pass to block <b>322</b>. At block <b>322</b>, an email address may be added. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref> may be a sample display of an email input screen. An email address may be added in the input box <b>1500</b> and the email address may be stored for future use when a next button <b>1510</b> is selected.

0067At block <b>324</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), for verification and access purposes, the CRM server name may be added. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 16</figref> may be a sample display where the CRM server name is inputted. The CRM server name may be added at block <b>1600</b> and the enter name may be stored for future use when a next button <b>1610</b> is selected. At block <b>326</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>), the method may determine whether the web server entered is a valid web server. The system may connect to the CRM Web Server and read appropriate registry entries to obtain the connection string to CRM DB Server. The system may use this connection string to make an attempt to connect to the CRM Database Server to verify the access and that the CRM server is valid. If the connection is not successful, control may pass to block <b>324</b> where the method may again request the name of the CRM server. If the connection is successful, control may pass to block <b>327</b>.

0068At block <b>327</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), the method may take information about the business data which customer wants to share with the CRM vendor. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 17</figref> may be a sample display where selections may be made about the data to be shared with the CRM vendor. The business data may be divided into following four categories

00691. Object Number <b>1700</b>;

00702. Business Profile Information <b>1710</b>;

00713. Object Associations <b>1720</b>; and

00724. Organizational Structure <b>1730</b>.

0073By selecting next <b>1740</b>, the data may be stored for future use.

0074At block <b>328</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), the method may inquire about the CRM statistical data which a customer wants to share with the CRM vendor. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 18</figref> may be a sample display of inquiring about such data. The CRM statistical data is divided into following four categories

00751. Growth Rate <b>1800</b>;

00762. Customization Information <b>1810</b>;

00773. Collaboration <b>1820</b>; and

00784. Outlook Client Synchronization Data <b>1830</b>.

0079In order to measure how customers are using different features of the CRM system in conjunction with each other, the method may calculate the number of associations between data records. For example, if an account is associated with one or more contacts, the unique ID of the contact record would be linked to the unique ID of the account in the database. The method may measure data growth rates by analyzing the creation dates of database records to derive how many records of a particular type were created within the last X days, for example. In addition, in order to understand what changes customers are making to the out-of-the-box database, the wizard may take a schema difference between the customer's database and the database that was shipped with the product. By selecting next <b>1840</b>, the entered data may be stored for later use.

0080At block <b>330</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), the method may take information about the CRM System data which customer wants to share with the Microsoft. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 19</figref> may be an illustration of a sample display for collecting CRM system data. The CRM System data is divided into following three categories

00811. SQL Server Information <b>1900</b>;

00822. Microsoft Database Server Information <b>1910</b>; and

00833. Microsoft CRM Server Application <b>1920</b>.

0084To measure how much data a customer has, the method may count the number of rows in database tables used by certain features of the CRM application. For example, by counting the number of rows in the Accounts table, the method may be able to compute the total number of accounts in the system. The method may also take another measure of data quantity by recording the physical size of the database.

0085The customer's hardware information may be gathered by retrieving the system information of servers such as CPU speed, CPU type, RAM size, and hard drive size. These hardware details give the product team a real-world picture of the hardware requirements of the CRM application. Along with the other profile characteristics such as data quantity and growth rates, the product team may be able to better understand the hardware needs of various kinds of customers. By selecting next <b>1930</b>, the entered data may be stored for later use.

0086At block <b>332</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>a</i>), options may be presented to allow the selection to review specific portions of the collected data before it is communicated. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 20</figref> may be a sample illustration of a display to give the option of selecting yes <b>2000</b> or no <b>2010</b> to inspect the data before it is sent to the CRM vendor. By selecting next <b>2020</b>, the method may save the selection for future use.

0087At block <b>334</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>b</i>), the method may determine whether at block <b>332</b> a selection was made to inspect the data to be communicated. If the determination is no, control may pass to block <b>336</b> where a data collection display may be displayed. A sample data collection display may be illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 21</figref> where the screen may show the section wise <b>2100</b>-<b>2150</b> progress of the data collection. The section for which the data will be collected <b>2100</b>-<b>2150</b> may be marked as ‘√’ and completed and progress bar will move to the next section.

0088If the determination at block <b>334</b> is yes (inspect the data to be sent), control may pass to block <b>338</b>. At block <b>338</b>, a data collection display may be displayed. A sample data collection display may be illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 21</figref> where the screen may show the section wise <b>2100</b>-<b>2150</b> progress of the data collection. The section for which the data will be collected <b>2100</b>-<b>2150</b> may be marked as ‘√’ and completed and progress bar will move to the next section. A stop <b>2155</b> selection may pass control to block <b>340</b> or the method may return to block <b>332</b>. A next <b>2160</b> selection may save the entered data for future use.

0089At block <b>340</b>, the collected data from the CRM database may be displayed. A sample illustration of such a display may be in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 22</figref> where a selection may be made to review the various collected data <b>2200</b>. The options of saving the data <b>2210</b> or to view the data in a browser <b>2220</b> may be presented. This screen may only appear if a selection has been made to inspect data in the “inspection screen” (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 20</figref>) or if a selection has been made to stop <b>2155</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 21</figref>) in the data collection screen.

0090At block <b>342</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>b</i>), the method may display the progress of the communication of the data to the CRM vendor. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 23</figref> may be an illustration of a data progress display. The display may show the progress bar <b>2300</b> which gives the status (in %) about the data already sent. A cancel button <b>2310</b> may stop the communication and control may pass to block <b>346</b> (<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref><i>b</i>).

0091At block <b>344</b>, the method may determine whether the communication to the CRM vendor was successful. If the communication was not successful, such as when communication was canceled by using the cancel button <b>2310</b>, a failure display may be displayed such as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 24</figref>. The method may be closed by selecting finish <b>2400</b>. If the determination at block <b>344</b> was that the communication was successful, at block <b>348</b>, a success display may be shown such as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 25</figref>. The method may be closed by selecting finished <b>2500</b>.

0092<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> may be another high level illustration of the method, focusing more on the end use of the data at the CRM vendor. As previously explained in relation to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2 and 3</figref>, the method uses SQL queries <b>400</b> read in from an input file and execute the SQL statements <b>410</b> against the customer database <b>420</b>. As most of the data is collected through SQL query statements, the method may be customized to collect any data about any database as long as the data can be expressed in SQL. For example, to count the number of records in a different database or table, the method may simply replace the database and table names in the SQL query. To compute descriptive statistics such as average, min, and max, the method may modify the SQL statement. All the SQL queries that the wizard executes can be placed in an XML input file.

0093After the data is collected into a results file <b>430</b> and sent across the internet <b>440</b> to a file store <b>450</b>, a process such as a batch process <b>460</b> may import the results file <b>450</b> into the reporting database <b>470</b> by reading a data map file <b>480</b> which defines what data goes into which column of which table. The data map <b>480</b> file must be defined according to the data that is collected as specified in the input file <b>400</b>. After the data is imported into the reporting database <b>470</b>, the CRM vendor may design reports or queries to analyze the data in the database <b>470</b>.

0094<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> may be an illustration of the blocks that represent the steps of the method. On the customer side on a customer internet <b>500</b>, there may be a CRM database <b>502</b> and a CRM server <b>504</b>. The CRM database <b>502</b> and CRM server <b>504</b> may be in communication with a remote computing device <b>506</b>. The remote device <b>506</b> may have software, hardware or a combination of hardware and software programmed perform the steps of the method. A block <b>508</b> may perform the step of creating an object to hold the data to be communicate to the CRM vendor. The object may be designed a parent class that is used as a wrapper to all of the following sub-classes, which are responsible to hold the data in their variables. The parent class may contain the objects of each sub classes defined as public, so that it may be visible to the other parts of the application. The following are brief description of sub classes used in this wrapper class:

0095CRMDBProperties Class

0096This class may hold the data related to the “CRMDBProperties” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0097Partners Class

0098This class may hold the data related to the “Partners” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0099BusinessUnitNames Class

0100This class may hold the data related to the “BusinessUnitNames” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0101CRMSystemCharacteristics Class

0102This class may hold the data related to the “CRMSystemCharacteristics” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0103CRMSystemInfo Class

0104This class may hold the data related to the “CRMSystemInfo” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0105CRMUsageGrowth Class

0106This class may hold the data related to the “CRMUsageGrowth” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0107AddOns Class

0108This class may hold the data related to the “AddOns” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0109CollabRulesPerObj Class

0110This class may hold the data related to the “CollabRulesPerObj” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0111Collaboration Class

0112This class may be used to hold the data related to the “Collaboration” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0113CustomFormElement Class

0114This class may hold the data related to the “CustomFormElement” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0115CustomFormItems Class

0116This class may hold the data related to the “CustomFormItems” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0117CustomFormMaster Class

0118This class may hold the data related to the “CustomFormMaster” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0119CustomNonstandard Class

0120This class may hold the data related to the “CustomNonstandard” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0121DataCollectionMaster Class

0122This class may hold the data related to the “DataCollectionMaster” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0123FormFielsRemoved Class

0124This class may hold the data related to the “FormFielsRemoved” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0125ObjectAssociation Class

0126This class may hold the data related to the “ObjectAssociation” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0127ObjectCount Class

0128This class may hold the data related to the “ObjectCount” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0129ObjectStructDataType Class

0130This class may hold the data related to the “ObjectStructDataType” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0131OrgStructSecPrev Class

0132This class may hold the data related to the “OrgStructSecPrev” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0133SalesTransDistribution Class

0134This class may hold the data related to the “SalesTransDistribution” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0135SyncSample Class

0136This class may hold the data related to the “SyncSample” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0137SyncUser Class

0138This class may hold the data related to the “SyncUser” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0139UserRolesWithQuotas Class

0140This class may hold the data related to the “UserRolesWithQuotas” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0141ObjectTypeLineltems

0142This class may hold the data related to the “ObjectTypeLineltems” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0143CollabPeoplePerObj

0144This class may hold the data related to the “CollabPeoplePerObj” table. All the variables defined in it are public, which may be used to store the data in the objects.

0145LoadSections Class

0146This class is responsible to upload the data to the objects of each business sub class's variables.

0147The data may then be serialized into an XML file using an XML serializer <b>510</b>. Stored data may be saved in the form of XML files with the following naming convention;

0148“HashOrgId_GUID_CollectedData.xml”—May contains the actual data from CRM database.

0149“HashOrgId_GUID_Export.xml”—May contain few additional client specific information in XML format.

0150“HashOrgId_GUID_OutlookClient.xml”

0151The compression block <b>512</b> may compress the resulting file from block <b>510</b> using Adaptive Huffman Compression or other reliable, well known compression schemes to save bandwidth during communication. The call webservice block <b>514</b> may begin the communication process from the client to the CRM provider.

0152An encryption block <b>516</b> may encrypt the data in order to keep the communication of the data safe over the internet <b>518</b>. This method may use “SSL 128 bit encryption” for transferring the data over the net to web server. For this, it will need to have “Certificate Authority” installed on web server machine. If anything goes wrong before receiving the data then it will be identified by web server and user at the client end will get the error message.

0153In addition, the method will implements “SHA1 algorithm” for hashing the Organization ID. It generates a unique hash key for unique string (organization ID) value. The generated key will be in Base-<b>64</b> string format, which may be supported by SP scripts

0154On the vendor side <b>520</b>, a web server <b>522</b> may be used to listen for request send by the CRM clients using the method. The web server <b>522</b> may be a hosted a web service which exposes one method to listen for all the requests. Before processing the request it may check for the user's identity (Basic Authentication). After validating the credentials, it may extract the actual data. The task of web service includes the following steps:

01551) Authentication;

01562) Decryption;

01573) Decompression;

01584) Validation (version check, License Key, Organization Name check); and

01595) File Storage.

0160Finally web service will put the data in the form of xml files in “FileShare” folder.

0161Authentication

0162The method may validate a CRM system based on the organization name, License GUID and the license key which may be passed to a method. If the authentication of OrganizationId, License GUID and License key fails, then the user will not be allowed to collect and send data.

0163Decryption <b>524</b>

0164This tool <b>524</b> makes use of “Secured Socket Layer (SSL) <b>128</b> bit encryption &amp; decryption” for transferring the data over the net to web server. For this, the CRM vendor may need to have “Certificate Authority” installed on web server machine. If anything goes wrong before receiving the data then it will be identified by web server and the user at client end will get the proper error message.

0165Decompression <b>526</b>

0166This tool <b>526</b> may make use of the “AdaptiveHuffmanCompression” for the decompressing of the data which may have been compressed using Adaptive Huffman Compression to save bandwidth.

0167Deserialization <b>528</b>

0168Using an XML deserializer <b>528</b>, the decompressed data may be deserialized. The deserialized data may then be validates and stored.

0169Validation (version check) <b>530</b>

0170Web service checks the version number of the method used by the client to send the data. If the client is not using the correct version it will return an error message to the user which will finally displayed and guide the user to install the new version of tool.

0171File Storage <b>532</b>

0172Assuming validation is successful at block <b>530</b>, the web service may store the data <b>532</b> in a safe storage area named as “File Share”. The following method may be invoked by a web service to accomplish the task. A process such as a batch process may be used. There may be two parts of the process: an executable part and a stored procedures part. The executable is responsible to prepare a platform for stored procedures by completing all of the prerequisites and generating delimited temporary data files needed to upload the data. Stored procedures may be responsible for actual data uploading to the CRM vendor database.

0173The purpose of process may be to handle the information sent by customers and to upload data to the respective tables. Part of the process may entail renaming all the files <b>534</b>. It may intake the group of files sent by the customers and processes it. During the processing, file may flow through the following four folders,

0174Inbox <b>536</b>

0175This folder <b>536</b> may be responsible for storing the data sent by the customer. Stored data will be saved in the form of XML files with the following naming convention;

0176“HashOrgId_GUID_CollectedData.xml”—May contains the actual data from CRM database.

0177“HashOrgId_GUID_Export.xml”—May contain few additional client specific information in XML format.

0178“HashOrgId_GUID_OutlookClient.xml”

0179This may be the input folder for stored procedures in the vendor database server <b>538</b>. Whenever a process such as a batch job <b>540</b> gets invoked by batch environment, it may pick up the files from the “Inbox” <b>536</b>, fills up all the required fields, generates delimited temporary data files for each stored procedure and stores them into “In Process” folder <b>542</b>. Stored procedures may require the file path as an input for their reference to upload the data.

0180In Error <b>544</b>

0181If any error occurs during the processing of data, the process such as a batch process may move the following three files (which consists a File Group) to this folder <b>544</b>;

0182a. “HashOrgId_GUID_CollectedData.xml”—Contains the actual data from CRM database.

0183b. “HashOrgId_GUID_Export.xml”—Contains few additional client specific information in XML format.

0184c. “HashOrgId_GUID_OutlookClient.xml”

0185Completed <b>546</b>

0186After a successful completion of the process, it may be the responsibility of the executable to move the following three files (which consists a File Group) to the “Completed” folder <b>546</b>;

0187a. “HashOrgId_GUID_CollectedData.xml”—Contains the actual data from CRM database.

0188b. “HashOrgId_GUID_Export.xml”—Contains few additional client specific information in XML format.

0189c. “HashOrgId_GUID_OutlookClient.xml”

0190Stored procedures may be responsible for actually uploading the data to the software vendor database.

0191Executable

0192This part of the process may be a batch process <b>548</b> and may be responsible for setting up the platform for stored procedures which will upload the data to the database <b>550</b>. It may intake the group of files sent by the customers and process the whole file group. During the processing file can flow through the following <b>4</b> folders,

01931) Inbox <b>536</b>.

01942) In Process <b>542</b>.

01953) In Error <b>544</b>.

01964) Completed <b>546</b>.

0197To complete its process, “Batch job” <b>548</b> may require the following classes,

01981) DirectoryInspection Class

01992) Customization Class

02003) CSVGenerator Class

02014) DataUploadBA Class

02025) FileRedirection Class

0203Stored procedures are being used to upload the data to the database <b>550</b>. An executable file may be responsible to make calls to all of the stored procedures. There are three stored procedures defined to deal with <b>24</b> temporary data files which eventually will update <b>26</b> tables in database <b>550</b>.

0204The following may be a list of the stored procedures <b>548</b> being used,

02051) TiresiasUploadData

02062) TiresiasDeleteData

02073) TiresiasBulkInsertData

0208The following <b>26</b> tables may be affected from the stored procedures <b>548</b>;

02091) AddOns

02102) CRMDBProperties

02113) Partners

02124) CRMUsageGrowth

02135) SyncUser

02146) ObjectAssociation

02157) SyncSample

02168) CRMSystemInfo

02179) OrgStructDataType

021810) Collaboration

021911) SalesTransDistribution

022012) OrgStructSecPrev

022113) ObjectCount

022214) DataCollectionMaster

022315) CollabRulesPerObj

022416) CustomFormMaster

022517) Customformelement

022618) CustomNonstandard

022719) CustomFormItems

022820) UserRolesWithQuotes

022921) BusinessUnitNames

023022) CRMSystemCharacteristic

023123) FormFieldsRemoved

023224) FileStorage

023325) CollabPeoplePerObj

023426) ObjectTypeLineltems

0235The stored procedures <b>548</b> may have additional detail.

0236spTiresiasUploadData

0237This stored procedure <b>548</b> may be used to upload the data to database <b>550</b> from the delimited temporary data files generated by batch job <b>540</b>. It may take comma separated file names, hash of license key and the sections selected by the users as the input.

0238spTiresiasDeleteData

0239This stored procedure <b>548</b> may be used to delete the previous data for same customer. It may take table name as input parameter and deletes all of the previously existing records for the sections selected by “client tool” user.

0240spTiresiasBulkInsertData

0241This stored procedure may be used to upload the data to the table from the respective delimited temporary data files generated by batch job <b>540</b>. It may take comma separated file name and the table name as the input parameter. It may be invoked by “UploadData”.

0242Although the forgoing text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the scope of the patent is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment because describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

0243Thus, many modifications and variations may be made in the techniques and structures described and illustrated herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present claims. Accordingly, it should be understood that the methods and apparatus described herein are illustrative only and are not limiting upon the scope of the claims.